Always Bring These Things if You’re Exercising With Skin Allergies

Exercising with various skin allergies can be annoying since you often have to monitor not just your heart rate, but your skin condition as well (if it's already sporting hives and rashes). But despite these hurdles, it's still better to push through with your daily exercise routine because there are ways to prevent your skin condition from acting up, and lack of exercise will only lead to poorer health.

In order for you to keep exercising and keep your skin allergies at bay, bring the following items with you whenever you’re working out.

Water bottle

Staying hydrated is very important for people suffering from eczema, rosacea, etc. Most skin allergies get triggered because of dryness, which eventually leads to rashes or even blisters. If you’re going to work out, you’ll definitely lose a lot of fluids so you need to replenish them quickly. So always bring a water bottle with you and take a sip every few minutes so as to refresh yourself.

A soft and hypoallergenic towel

Sweat can also trigger certain skin conditions such as aquagenic urticaria and eczema. The former is a condition wherein the person is allergic to water, even sweat. Fluids trigger a reaction on the skin, such as redness and rashes.

Eczema is affected by three factors: dehydration, heat, and the sodium in sweat. When you exercise, you use up a lot of your bodily fluids and sweat trickles off to cool down your skin. But your eczema will get triggered by the sodium in your sweat because it can dehydrate your skin more and even irritate it.

Always bring a soft towel with you when you’re working out so you can gently pat the sweat away. The keyword here is “pat” and not “scrub” because scrubbing your skin might irritate it more.

Moisturizers

We can’t stress enough the need to hydrate your skin because dehydration often triggers skin conditions and will keep you from making the most out of your exercise routine. Bring an ample supply of moisturizer and apply on your skin before and after you work out. When swimming, experts even advise that you apply moisturizer before you start swimming because the chlorine in the pool can dry out your skin.

Hypoallergenic soaps

Working out will open your pores because your body is trying to release the heat that’s building up inside your body. When you work out, you leave your skin vulnerable to dirt and other foreign substances that could exacerbate your skin condition.

It’s important to wash your skin thoroughly after you work out to get rid of any dirt that might have gotten into your pores. However, it is not advisable to use any soap you might find in your local gym because those soaps have lots of chemicals that can irritate your sensitive skin. If you have a hypoallergenic soap, bring it and use it instead.

Cotton Shirts

Wearing cotton clothing after your post-workout shower not only helps you relax, but it also keeps your allergies at bay. Clothes with organic cotton fiber are breathable and comfortable to wear, as these clothes do not have harmful chemicals that can potentially irritate your skin or worsen your allergies. Keeping a tee or two in your gym bag is always a good idea.

These are just some of the items you should always bring with you whenever you’re exercising so that you’ll be able to prevent your sensitive skin from getting irritated and your condition from acting up.